New Beginnings
by Majestic Elk
Summary: When her Aunt is offered a promotion, Beca Mitchell is now faced with spending the year with her father and step mother in Georgia. All she wants is to make it through Barden High unnoticed, but will the actions of a certain redhead disrupt those plans? And can Beca ever truly learn to forgive her father?
1. No place like home

**So… This is a brand new experience for me but ever since I watched Pitch Perfect 2 (which is so freaking awesome and everyone ever should watch it!) I can't get these two out of my head! So here we go, first fanfic! Would be great if people wanna stick around as I have a rough idea of where I want to take this story :)**

 **Sadly I own absolutely none of the characters in Pitch Perfect…**

Beca Mitchell scowled. There were a thousand and one places she wanted to be, but standing outside of her father's house was not one of them. She heard the screech of tires as the taxi she'd arrived in pulled away from the kerb and she let out a deep sigh. Now there truly was nowhere to go apart from inside. Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, she slowly picked up her laptop case from the ground and trudged towards the front door. Using her free hand, Beca lifted the brass knocker that adorned the door and let it fall with a dull thump, almost wishing no one would answer. Sadly her prayers fell on deaf ears as the shuffling of feet and muffled voices became increasingly louder, until after what felt like an eternity the door was tentatively pulled open.

"Beca! I told you I would have come and picked you up, how did you even get here?" Her father, Andrew Mitchell bore a look of surprise and concern as he surveyed the now empty street.

"Aunt Shelley's half way across the world, you're safe. I took a cab." Beca saw the smallest hint of relief cross her father's face and her scowl deepened. _Always has been a fucking coward._ She angrily thought to herself before pushing past him and into the house. She heard him sigh before gently closing the door and turning to face her.

"I'm gonna give you guys a minute." His wife Sheila muttered before heading into the kitchen. Beca barely glanced at her step mother before once more locking eyes with her father, waiting impatiently for him to finally have the balls to spew whatever bullshit speech he'd prepared.

"Look, Beca. I know this is probably the last place you want to be and I know it's going to be hard without Aunt Shelley and being the new kid in school…" His voice trailed off and there were a few moments of excruciatingly awkward silence before he took a breath and continued.

"But I think, I think you could really like it here in Georgia and with, with me and Sheila, if you just give us a chance." Andrew noticed too late that his daughter had clenched her fists and her small frame was beginning to shake as anger flowed through her.

"Give you a chance?! Oh like you gave yours and mom's marriage a chance?" She spat the words at Andrew, not caring when he visibly flinched.

"Becs… That's not fair…" He tried to reason but Beca quickly cut him off.

"No! You know what isn't fair? You leaving without so much as a second glance. Not knowing where you lived, what you looked like, and god if you were even alive for six years! Even after mom…" Beca squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to regain her composure. Her voice was quieter when she next spoke but Andrew heard every word as clearly as if she had screamed them in his face.

"Even after mom you still didn't care, and you don't now. You're only taking me in because there is literally no other option, so don't start pretending you want to play happy families. You lost that privilege a long time ago Andrew." With that she turned on her heel and stomped upstairs, easily locating the guest bedroom that had been made up for her. Slamming the door shut she sank onto the bed, burying her head in her hands.

1 month ago

" _Beca, please talk to me. Don't shut me out over this." Her Aunt Shelley sat at the opposite end of the dining table, nervously wringing her hands. It had been ten minutes since she'd broken the news that she'd been offered a promotion, in Europe. Her niece had yet to look up from the cup of coffee she was clutching and to the untrained eye it looked as though this news was nothing to Beca. Her Aunt however could see the whitening of Beca's knuckles as her grip on the mug became increasingly tighter._

" _I can stay Beca." Her niece's eyes flashed to hers as the statement left her mouth and the conflicting emotions that darted over her face almost broke Shelley's heart. When Beca remained silent she continued talking, letting the words tumble out._

" _I don't have to take the promotion, I shouldn't even be considering it, not after everything you've gone through in these last few years… I can stay, here, with you. Maybe when you're in college something else will come up…" Shelley fell silent as she saw Beca readying herself to speak. After taking a few deep breaths, she relinquished her grip on the mug before slowly reaching across the table to take hold of her Aunt's hand. Shelley felt herself smile slightly, Beca wasn't one for physical contact so for her to be the one to initiate it really meant something to the older woman._

" _Aunt Shelley, you kick ass in that company. Like on a daily basis and then you have to come home and deal with this." Beca gestured to herself with her free hand before continuing._

" _You don't get anywhere near as much credit as you deserve and this is your time. Opportunities like these don't come around that often and you've gotta take this one, who knows where it could lead! You've done so much for me so now it's my turn to do something for you, and if it's my blessing you need then you've got it." She squeezed her Aunt's hand and looked away, almost embarrassed as Shelley wiped away the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes._

" _You'd have to live with your father though Becs…" Her Aunt began saying, her face contorting slightly as she thought of Andrew Mitchell._

" _It's okay, honestly. It's only for a year right?" Beca cut in and Shelley nodded._

" _Are you sure about this?" Shelley asked, staring intensely at Beca, who returned the stare and slowly nodded her approval._

" _It's gonna be an interesting year for the both of us." Beca finally said, alleviating the tension that had built up around them._

" _I love you Beca." Her Aunt said, smiling softly at the young girl._

" _Love you too Aunt Shelley." Beca replied before dropping her Aunt's hand and heading up to her room._

Beca felt a pang of sadness as she recalled the conversation with her Aunt that had led to her having to move in with her father and step mother, or step monster as Beca preferred to think of her. She missed Aunt Shelley, missed the way they would always binge watch Netflix on the weekends, missed how she would always make Beca brownies if she'd had a bad day, missed the way she knew when to give her space but also when to get Beca to open up. She didn't know what she'd have done without Aunt Shelley for the past three years and she didn't know what she was gonna do now… Beca furiously wiped away the tears that had begun to form, she'd promised Aunt Shelley she would try, try and be happy here. She just didn't know how she was going to manage it and the overwhelming sense of hopelessness that washed through Beca made her want to scream and punch the wall. Instead she settled for pulling her laptop out of its case and plugging her headphones in. Turning the volume up she managed to drown out the voices from downstairs and lose herself in her music.

 _Only another 365 days to go._


	2. Freak outs and fall downs

The persistent thumping on her door startled Beca from her sleep. Groaning she pulled herself upright before hitting her phone, squinting down at the bright display. 2pm.

"Beca!" Her dad's voice called out to her, a mixture of concerned and agitated and Beca rolled her eyes before slowly standing up.

"I'm not going away until you open this door." He continued when it became apparent that Beca was neither going to answer him or leave the room. The hammering on her door got increasingly louder until after pulling an oversized hoodie on, she threw the door open.

"What do you want Andrew?" She asked through gritted teeth, glaring up at the older man.

"You've barely left your room all weekend Beca, it's not healthy! You're 16, you should go explore the neighbourhood, you never know you might find yourself liking it." He pleaded with his daughter, nervously running his hand through his hair.

"Oh wow, I haven't even been here a week and you're already trying to get rid of me. I feel so loved." Beca quickly shot back, enjoying the discomfort evident on her father's face. He closed his eyes, briefly massaging his temples before once again trying to engage with his daughter.

"You know that's not what I meant Beca… Just, the year's going to go a lot slower if you spend it holed up in here." He gestured to the room behind her before heading back downstairs, leaving Beca to dwell on his parting words.

As much as it annoyed her to admit it, he was right, one more day of staring at these too bare walls and she'd go crazy. Quickly pulling her hair into a messy bun, Beca grabbed her ipod before charging out of the house, the opening bars of a Fall Out Boy song drowning out her father.

Not wanting the humiliation of getting lost and having to call Andrew, Beca decided to simply walk a short loop around the neighbourhood before heading back to her room. Softly humming along to Save Rock and Roll, she slowly made her way past the grand houses that inhabited her father's neighbourhood. It was no secret that he lived an incredibly comfortable life and it only infuriated Beca when she thought back to the times her and her mom struggled to make ends meet, living off one pay check to the next. Never once did he offer to help.

Beca turned the volume up, not wanting to drag up such painful memories. She let her mind drift instead to tomorrow, it would be Monday, and she would be expected to go to school. Barden High. Of course it was the school Andrew taught at, there would be no escaping him and Beca sighed, not for the first time wishing they no longer shared a surname. School had never been easy for Beca, she was always the different one. The one without the dad, then the one without the mom… Now she was gonna be the estranged daughter of one of the English teachers.

 _Fuck my life._ She swore internally, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach as all the worst case scenarios for tomorrow ran through her mind. Needing a distraction she carefully studied her ipod, searching for the right song. Smiling slightly, Beca paused momentarily before the opening bars of Titanium echoed in her ears and she shoved the device back in her pocket before picking up the pace. Something about this song always calmed her nerves and as it continued to play, Beca could focus on nothing but the music.

 _You shoot me down but I won't fall_

 _I am titanium_

 _You shoot me down but I won't fall_

 _I am titanium_

With the song in full swing Beca failed to notice the blur of red that sped around the corner, barrelling towards her. Because of this she failed to move out of the way of the blur of red and with a small "oof" she found herself on the floor without really knowing how she got there.

Opening her eyes, Beca was immediately met with a concerned gaze from a pair of deep blue eyes. She then realised how close this girl actually was to her and hurriedly scrambled backwards, putting some distance between them. It wasn't like this mattered though as the redhead barely seemed to notice and just edged closer to Beca.

"I'm so sorry! I totally didn't see you, I was completely in my own little world! Are you okay?" The girl talked at about a million miles an hour and Beca could barely process what was happening.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She finally managed to reply, before slowly attempting to pull herself upright.

"Here let me help you!" The other girl stated before quickly taking hold of Beca's arms and pulling her into a standing position. The unexpected physical contact completely threw Beca and she immediately froze up until the taller girl eventually let go of her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again, this time noticing the distance Beca had put between them, a look of hurt briefly crossed her face.

 _Don't take it personally._ Beca wanted to say. _Everything's just easier this way._ Instead she attempted a small smile that probably looked as forced as it felt.

"Yes, thank you I'm fine." The girls fell silent and all that could be heard was the tinny sounds of titanium still blasting through Beca's earbuds.

"Is that titanium?!" The redhead asked excitedly, her face lighting up.

"Yeah… It's of my favourites." Beca replied, her smile becoming slightly more genuine as she saw the other girl's face light up.

"Mine too!" She looked as if she wanted to say more and was in the process of once again leaning in before Beca jumped backwards.

"I, I've gotta get going. Was nice bumping in to you." Beca shot the redhead a grin before turning and practically running away from the strange girl with no concept of personal space.

Beca resisted the urge to turn around, but if she had she would have seen the redhead gazing after her, a curious yet determined expression etched on to her face. Trying to shake off the strange encounter Beca's mind once again fell back on school and how she was going to survive. Her stomach lurched at the thought of being surrounded by hundreds of strangers and she had to stop to take a few calming breaths.

 _Pull it together Mitchell. You've got this, you're not a complete idiot_. She mentally lectured herself, trying to calm the ever increasing butterflies in her stomach. As she saw the house come back into view, Beca decided that the best way to approach Barden High was to become invisible. She'd keep her head down, stick it out for the year, then Aunt Shelley would come back and she'd never have to see this place or her so called "family" again.

She allowed herself a small smile as she pushed the front door open. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all.


	3. First day drama

**I'm very much enjoying writing this so I hope people are enjoying reading it! It's kinda late here but hopefully this chapter makes sense haha**

8:17am

Beca's hand shot out from under the duvet and silenced the high pitched beeping coming from her alarm. Resisting the urge to roll over and fall back into unconsciousness, she gently eased the duvet away from herself, groaning as a wave of cold air hit her body.

"10 minutes Beca!" She rolled her eyes at her father's attempts to sound authoritative and slowly headed over to the small closet in the corner of the room. Surveying the small amount of clothes messily piled inside, Beca decided she was gonna need all the home comforts she could get on the first day of school. Layering her favourite plaid shirt over a simple black tee, she tugged on her comfiest pair of black skinny's and her beaten old chucks, which she swore were the comfiest shoes she had ever owned. Glancing in the mirror she pulled some of hair back into a bun, letting the rest hang delicately around her face before applying her usual amount of eyeliner. Letting out a shaky breath, Beca nervously brushed at her jeans and grabbed her old satchel bag.

 _You got this. You so got this Mitchell._ She chanted to herself as she stomped downstairs, lingering near the door, desperate to get out of the house.

"I made eggs, do you want some?" Sheila called down the hallway as she spotted Beca.

"I'm allergic to eggs. Not that you guys would know…" Beca shot back, disgust lacing her voice, causing Sheila to cringe.

"You should eat something anyway." Andrew Mitchell's voice called out, choosing to ignore Beca's previous comment, they'd argued enough over the weekend and he didn't think he had the mental strength to have another one now.

Beca trudged into the kitchen, seizing hold of a banana and began taking exaggerated bites out of it.

"Happy now?" She asked, one eyebrow cocked at the pair. Sheila turned away to the sink, busying herself with washing up and Andrew simply sighed.

"Are you ready?" He asked, not waiting for Beca's reply before grabbing his flask of coffee and car keys off the kitchen counter.

"Have a great day." He said softly to Sheila before gently kissing her, filling Beca with a range of emotions. Mainly disgust but also anger and, and sadness she realised.

"Standing right here." She growled before stalking out of the kitchen and slamming the front door, angrily pacing the driveway while she waited for her father to emerge.

"It's gonna be okay." Sheila whispered, taking Andrew's face in her hands.

"Will it? She can hardly stand to look at me, and I can't really blame her…" Andrew's voice rang heavy with defeat, he knew he'd made some massive mistakes in his life but seeing Beca so distant from him, hurt him in a way he never expected.

"She's been through a lot Andrew, and you lost her trust a long time ago. It's gonna take a lot to start making it right but I believe you can." She smiled as a faint glimmer of hope flashed in her husband's eyes.

"I love you." He told her as he headed out of the house and towards his car, where Beca was waiting impatiently for him.

After various pathetic attempts from her father to start a conversation with her, Beca pointedly removed her headphones from her bag before settling them over her ears and leaning against the window, letting her eyes drift close.

She was snapped out of her music bubble as the car came to an abrupt stop, out of the corner of her eye she noticed her father leaning towards her presumably to remove her headphones. Quickly sliding them around her neck Beca whirled to face him.

"Touch them and I'll hurt you." She said flatly as he raised his hands slowly in a surrendering motion.

"Becs I'm sorry…" He began.

"Just, don't." She muttered before hopping out of the car, aggressively slamming the door behind her.

"Beca wait, do you even know where you're going? At least let me take you to reception!" He called after her as she started to walk away.

"I'll figure it out Andrew, it's not like I've had your help for the past what, seven years?!" She turned, yelling at him before heading towards the main entrance of Barden High. Noticing the curious stares of many of the students, Beca had to stop herself from screaming with frustration. So much for being invisible. Nothing screams freak more than having a domestic in the school parking lot with the English teacher.

Picking up her pace, Beca pushed her way through the main doors and into the mass of students, already counting down the hours until the day was over.

…

"Screamed at Dr Mitchell, right in the middle of the parking lot!"

Excited chatter filled the lunch table and Chloe Beale quickly took her place next to her best friend Aubrey Posen, who was currently animatedly sharing her gossip with the other girls around them.

"Wait what's going on?" Chloe asked as shocked gasps flew around the table.

"There's a new girl at school." Aubrey began, and Chloe looked at her expectedly.

"And?" She prompted, hoping that wasn't the only part of the story.

"Well, this morning she got out of a car with Dr Mitchell, he was offering to help her find her way around." Aubrey's eyes were shining with excitement and Chloe had to resist the urge to roll hers, Bree was a sucker for gossip.

"Okay…" Chloe said, still unsure as to where this story was going.

"And then she just completely blows up at him! Screams she doesn't need his help and he hasn't been there for like seven years." Aubrey finished, staring at Chloe, obviously expecting her to hold the same levels of enthusiasm. Chloe however had never much been one for revelling in others people's drama and she felt only concern for this poor new girl.

"Oh that's awful! I hope she's okay." Briefly looking around, she was glad to see her sentiment was shared by some of the other girls at the table.

"Chloe, she screamed at a teacher and from the sounds of it he was only trying to help her." Aubrey countered, her nose crinkling slightly as she recalled the memory of the small angry girl stalking away from Dr Mitchell.

"Oh don't be so dense Bree, it doesn't take a genius to work out what's going on." Chloe shot back, the table holding their breath, only Chloe could get away with talking to Aubrey like that.

"Oh and what would that be then, seeing as your now some sort of relationship expert." Aubrey pursed her lips before fixing Chloe with a cool stare.

…

She was going to stay away, she really was. Part of her remain invisible rule, head down and exit the canteen as quickly as possible. But then Beca had heard the girls start to discuss her slight altercation with her father this morning and she was suddenly paralysed, unable to walk away. To her surprise she instead found herself edging closer to the table. Luckily they were all engrossed in the tall blonde who looked like she'd had a stick up her ass for her entire human life. The familiar stirrings of anger began to fill her stomach as she heard this girl try and actually defend her father. This. This was exactly why she had wanted to avoid making a scene this morning. Now she was gonna be the angry freak and Andrew the Good Samaritan that took her in. Ugh.

"Oh and what would that be then, seeing as your now some sort of relationship expert." She heard the blonde ask the newcomer at the table. That was it. If she couldn't stop people talking about her she may as well set them straight.

Before she could change her mind she closed the remaining distance between herself and the table.

"Yes, what would that be?" She asked innocently, waiting for the girls to turn around. She smirked slightly as she saw many of them turn bright red when they quickly realised who she was.

"Come on then Red, what exactly is the situation between me and Dr Andrew Mitchell?" She fixed her gaze on the redhead, taking small pleasure in watching her awkwardly fidget in her seat.

"Well, erm… Wait a minute. I know you!" The girl exclaimed, jumping up from her seat.

 _Crap the girl is tall!_ Beca thought to herself as she now had to raise her head to meet the familiar piercing gaze of the redhead. Beca's confusion lasted only momentarily as they both realised Chloe had been the one to run headfirst into Beca over the weekend.

"Aca-scuse me? Chloe how do you know this, this alt girl?" Aubrey jumped up from her seat, glaring distastefully at Beca, who unthinkingly clenched her fists.

"You're one to talk. Ever think about getting that stick surgically removed from your ass?" Beca shot back, earning a low whistle of approval from one of the girls at the table. Turning her attention back to the other girl, Chloe, Beca continued talking.

"So, Chloe, care to tell everyone my life story?" She folded her arms, not caring that her sandwich was getting slightly crushed.

Chloe sighed deeply.

"I don't even know your name… I don't think I'm qualified to tell that kind of information." She finally answered, causing Beca to smile. She would give them all an abbreviated version of this morning and then get the hell out of there before the stuck up blonde impaled her with her fork.

"Andrew's my father. I haven't seen him or heard from him since I was seven years old. My Aunt's working in Europe for the year so I have to stay here, with him. So that's why things were a little tense this morning. I'm Beca by the way. And now I'm out. So lovely to meet you all." She let the sarcasm drip into her voice as she finished talking, before giving the table a mock salute and heading towards the cafeteria exit.

Okay. So maybe staying invisible hadn't exactly gone to plan, but she figured she'd been rude enough to those girls to stop them from attempting to initiate anymore conversations either with or about her.

It was to her surprise and slight horror when she felt a hand close around her arm and a soft voice say her name.

"Beca. I'm sorry. About Aubrey and about what I said. It's not our right to pry or make assumptions about your life when we don't even know you." The redhead, Chloe had rushed out after her and Beca was slightly taken aback to see the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke.

"Its fine Chloe, just forget about it." Beca glanced over her shoulder and had to stop herself laughing at the sight of Aubrey, face red, mouth hanging open.

"You should probably get back to your friend, she looks like she's about to have an aneurysm." Beca said, smiling as she saw Chloe chuckle.

"Ah Bree will be fine, she needs to learn to let loose sometimes." Chloe replied, focusing once more on Beca.

"Erm, so are you gonna let go of me at any point today? Cause as nice as this is I do have class." Beca stared pointedly at Chloe's hand still wrapped around her arm.

"Depends." Chloe replied breezily. Beca arched her eyebrow questioningly at the ginger.

"You gonna run away from me again?" Chloe took a step closer to Beca, who was trying to search her brain for some sort of comeback.

"No promises." She managed to say, relieved as Chloe relinquished her grip.

"About what you were saying earlier. I want to get to know you better, I think we all do." Chloe told Beca, a hint of hope in her voice. She didn't know what it was but she really wanted to befriend the smaller girl.

Beca found herself momentarily lost for words as all sort of thoughts entered her head. Befriending the girls, befriending Chloe, having someone to talk that wasn't her father or the step monster, people to spend time with…

 _What the fuck Mitchell? Plan invisible remember?! Besides, you're only here for the year. And they wouldn't want to be your friend if they ever got to know you better. And then where are you? Alone and devastated. Again. No. You can't make friends with these people. No matter how much you want to get to know Chloe better…_

Realising they were stood in silence Beca quickly scrambled for any sort of excuse.

"Erm, thanks Chlo." She winced internally. _Nicknames?! Why the fuck would you give her a nickname you idiot!_ She screamed at herself.

"But I really don't think your friend Aubrey would want me hanging out with you guys, and I don't want to initiate some sort of year long feud with her." She quickly finished speaking, once more stepping out of Chloe's reach.

"I've really gotta go. I've gotta find my next class." She added, cutting off whatever Chloe had been about to say, and with a final small smile she hurried out into the quad, leaving a confused and sad redhead in her wake.


	4. Get me out of here

**Hey! Firstly thank you so much for all the positive feedback, you guys are awesome. I'll warn you now, in my head this story is gonna be a slow burner (but with lots of stuff happening I promise!) so I hope you wanna stick around for it! Secondly, I'm visiting my parent's this weekend so updates will be sporadic/potentially not until Tuesday after this one. Thirdly, I am currently incredibly tired and should really sleep so I apologise if this chapter isn't that great, just needed to get it down and out of my head!**

The remaining week passed by in a blur for Beca. After everything that had happened on Monday, she was relieved to see herself slip once more into obscurity. She sat at the back of every class, the only noise she made was tapping out melodies on the desks. Her classmates soon lost any interest they had had in her when they realised any conversation started would last for approximately three sentences. Even the teachers were beginning to forget about her, their eyes drifting over her as if she wasn't even present in their classes. Plan invisible was once again back on track.

She tried to ignore the pangs of sadness that would rush through her whenever she caught sight of Chloe and her friends. She marvelled at the way they were all so comfortable around each other, hell even Aubrey would sometimes double over in hysterics, usually after the leggy brunette had finished talking. She would watch them sometimes at lunch, before heading out into the quad alone. As the days went on it became increasingly more difficult to pull herself away and she had found herself almost walking over to the table, just as she had done on the first day.

 _No! You made that decision and you know it's for the best. You can't be friends with them, you know you can't._ Beca often wanted to scream in frustration, at herself, at the girls, at everyone. What was it about these people that drew her to them? Beca was once more stood near the entrance, watching the group jealously, they made everything look so, so easy. She couldn't stand it any longer, maybe she was being stupid. Maybe she should just talk to them or at the very least talk to Chloe. Chloe wanted to be her friend. Taking a deep breath, Beca tentatively stepped forward.

 _Only because she doesn't know you…_ The small voice reared up in the back of Beca's mind, stopping her in her tracks.

 _And when she does get to know you, everything that's happened, she'll run a mile. They all do._ The voice continued, relentless in its destruction of Beca's confidence. Running a hand through her hair, Beca bit her bottom lip, completely torn between turning and running or ignoring the voice and continuing towards Chloe.

Her decision was made for her when Chloe looked up from her lunch and caught sight of the small brunette half shuffling towards her. Their eyes met and Chloe smiled widely, making a small gesture for Beca to join them. The smaller girl couldn't help but return the smile before pushing all of the doubtful voices out of her head. Taking a few more steps towards their table she swore her heart was about to explode out of her chest, she shouldn't be doing this. This wasn't part of the plan.

 _Oh screw the plan. Make some friends Mitchell, you might actually have some fun this year._ Beca smirked, she was starting to sound like Aunt Shelley. Willing her heart to slow down she clutched her sandwich tightly as she shuffled ever closer towards Chloe and her friends. Before she could reach them however, Aubrey lent across the table, blocking Chloe from her view.

"Why is that freak currently walking towards us and why are you encouraging it?" She hissed at Chloe, loud enough for Beca to hear. Her blood ran cold, humiliation and rejection rushed through her, so strong she was surprised she didn't fall to her knees.

Beca registered the anger on Chloe's face, saw her mouth moving but all she could hear was Aubrey's words echoing around her head.

 _Told you so…_ The malicious voice drifted into her head and all of a sudden the cafeteria was too small and there were far too many people around her. She needed out. Now.

Barely caring how it must have looked to the other students she turned and sprinted from the cafeteria, she needed the fresh air. Needed to be away from the judgemental glares of Aubrey fucking Posen and Chloe's bright smile.

Now that she was out into the quad, she slowed to a walk, quickly wiping her eyes and already trying to forget the encounter.

 _Lesson fucking learnt._ She thought bitterly.

"Beca!" The all too familiar voice rang out behind her and she reluctantly turned to face Chloe, unable to keep some of her frustration out of her voice.

"Jesus fucking Christ Chloe! What? What do you want now? Cause if you're gonna apologise for your stuck up bitch of a friend don't bother, I don't give a shit." She threw her hands up, momentarily forgetting about the sandwich she was clutching, which ended up flying out the bag and on to the floor.

"Perfect. Just. Fucking. Perfect!" She yelled, kicking the offending lunch item.

It sure looked like you gave a shit when you overheard Aubrey…" Chloe said quietly, refusing to be intimidated by Beca's anger.

"Well I don't, okay? And I don't want to make a habit of this either." Beca shot back, gesturing between the two of them, the past weeks' worth of anger and sadness and frustration was beginning to show, but she was too far gone at this point to care.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, looking confused.

"You. Following me. Asking if I'm alright. If I want to be your friend. It's weird and annoying and I'm fine. I'm fine without you. I don't need anyone!" Beca's voice threatened to break as she choked out the last words but she managed to hold it together.

"I think you do Beca, and I think that scares you. So when you're ready I'll be here." Chloe smiled sadly at her before starting to walk back inside. She paused briefly, before turning.

"Oh and for the record, everyone apart from Aubrey thinks you're really cool." She didn't wait for a response before hurrying up the final few steps and back inside the cafeteria.

 _Why?!_ Beca raged. _Why is she making it so difficult? Why can't she just give up on me, it's not like she'd be the first._ Chloe's reaction had completely thrown Beca, who had been expecting the redhead to tell her she was giving up on her stupid idea of them being friends, that Beca wasn't worth the hassle.

She didn't know whether to feel honoured or pissed off.

All she knew is that she couldn't spend another minute of today in class and before she could change her mind she stalked out of the main gates, she was yet to visit the surrounding town.

And well, her father had told her she needed to get out more…


	5. New music, same drama

**You guys! You're all so lovely and awesome and thank you for the feedback and favourites and follows and argh *blushes aggressively*. I've had a few queries about Beca/Chloe romance and at the minute that is going to be the direction I take but I'll warn you now it's going to be a slow developing one as I really want to explore other dynamics as well like Beca and her father. But there will be romance, and drama and angst and adorableness if you're willing to stick around for it haha. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough so here you go :)**

 **Also, side note. The Gaslight Anthem are seriously so good and you should all check them out.**

Not for the first time wishing she had a car, Beca glared at the girls seated in front of her on the bus. Even through her headphones she was still able to hear their moronic conversation about their weekend plans, and their incessant giggling made Beca want to throw either them or herself out of the window. A small part of her knew if she mentioned needing a car to her father he would probably jump at the opportunity to help her, gain her approval. The thought filled her with disgust, she wanted nothing from him, didn't want him to feel as though he could buy her love. No. She would ride public transport even if it did make her want to put her head through the glass.

Turning away from the two girls Beca caught the glimpse of a record shop out of the corner of her eye. For the first time that day, she felt her mood brighten and a fleeting smile cross her face. Pressing the bell Beca jumped up, hoping the next stop wasn't miles away. She was in luck, as the bus pulled to a stop just further down the street and after throwing the driver a quick thanks she quickly headed for the store.

Music had always been a constant in Beca's life. It had been there when her father had vanished into the night, leaving only a pathetic scrawl of an apology. It had been there when her mom passed. And it was here for her now. Music was the one thing that Beca could always rely on, could pour her heart out to, laugh to, cry to, safe in the knowledge that it would never leave her. Pushing the door open to the store she paused momentarily, breathing in the comforting scent of vinyl's and dust.

"Dude are you gonna come in or just lurk in the doorway? Either is cool, I hear lurking is what all the cool kids do these days." Beca jumped, startled by the loud voice that cut through the comfortable silence of the store. Seeing a boy with dark brown hair staring amusedly at her, she rolled her eyes before pointedly walking in the opposite direction. Carefully thumbing through the first box of CDs she caught sight of, she became increasingly frustrated when she heard him follow her.

"Can I help you?" She asked, not bothering to look away from the box, determined to find something new to listen to.

"Yeah. I know you." He replied and Beca cringed internally, judging by the look of the boy he was around her age, which could only mean one thing. He went to Barden High, the one place she was trying not to think about.

"No, no you don't." She shot back, turning to face him, crossing her arms and fixing him with her best "get the fuck away from me" glare. The boy however, seemed to either not notice or didn't care and continued questioning Beca.

 _God I thought Chloe was the only person who was so persistent._ Beca thought, her mind wandering back to the girl who refused to leave her alone. Guilt stirred in her stomach as she recalled their most recent conversation…

"So?" She heard the boy ask her, and flushing slightly Beca realised she hadn't been listening to a word he'd said.

"What?" She snapped, just wanting him to leave her alone.

"You're that girl from Barden High! The one that yelled at Mitchell. Gotta say, it was great to see his ass get handed to him." Beca couldn't help but smile as he finished speaking, it was the first time anyone had approved of what she did.

"I'm Jesse by the way. Jesse Swanson." He stuck out his hand and Beca tentatively shook it.

"Beca. Beca Mitchell." She replied, smiling as she saw the realisation cross Jesse's face.

"You're his daughter?! No way!" He exclaimed loudly and Beca was glad there didn't seem to be anyone else in the shop.

"Unfortunately yes." She muttered, praying that Jesse would drop the conversation. She had no such luck.

"So why are you out here with him and not with your mom?" There it was. He'd asked the question she'd been dreading since the day she'd got here, and she had no idea how to answer. She didn't even want to answer it. Talking about her mom still hurt to this day and she couldn't do it. Not yet. She opened her mouth, floundering for some sort of reply when she was suddenly saved by the appearance of a tall blonde man. Without missing a beat he clipped Jesse on the back of the head, laughing at the look of shock on the younger boy's face.

"I'm so sorry, is this idiot annoying you?" He spoke with a faint English accent and Beca was so grateful for the interruption that she could only nod dumbly at him.

"What did I tell you about harassing customers? The whole point of running a business is to get the customers into the store, not scare them away!" He was only semi joking as he lectured Jesse, who still remained unflustered.

"I was simply helping Beca here with some music recommendations Luke." He replied coolly, grabbing the nearest CD to him and practically flinging it at Beca.

"Oh yes, little do you know I am actually a giant fan of the Titanic soundtrack, you know me so well Jesse." Beca deadpanned, enjoying the colour that flooded Jesse's cheeks as Luke's hand once more playfully snapped against his head.

"CDs, store room. Go." Luke ordered and Jesse quickly slunk away, rubbing his head and muttering that My Heart Will Go On is a timeless classic.

"Sorry about him, you get used to it over time." Luke told Beca once Jesse had vanished behind the counter.

"It's fine. You've got an awesome store." She replied quickly, wanting to focus the conversation on something she was more willing to talk about.

"Thanks! I moved over her from England a few years ago, it's taken me a while to get everything up and running but I think it's finally there." Luke smiled proudly as his gaze flitted around the shop.

"Is there anything in particular you're looking for?" He asked Beca, easily slipping into business mode.

"I need something new. Maybe a bit rocky but not too heavy." She replied. Listening to Fall Out Boy recently had rekindled her interest in the genre and she wanted to see if she could incorporate anything new into her mixes.

"I think I might have just the band." Luke smiled and darted away, Beca could hear him rooting through a stack of CDs and a buzz of anticipation shot through her, this was always her favourite part of being in a record store. Moments later Luke re-emerged clutching a black and blue CD case. Handing it over to Beca she quickly scanned the cover, her smile growing.

"The Gaslight Anthem. Their songs are great and the lead singer's voice is just incredible. If you enjoy this album we have their others in the back." He told her and Beca nodded before rummaging through her bag for some spare cash.

After handing Luke ten dollars she gently placed the CD in her satchel before heading back out onto the street, pausing to check her phone. It was half four which meant that school had finished over an hour ago and to say her father sounded pissed would be an understatement. The last text she had received from him ten minutes ago simply read _Get home. Now._ Her good mood instantly dissipated as she imagined the scene that would be waiting when she arrived at the house and she considered not going back.

 _Then where would you go? It's not like you have any friends you could stay with. You fucked that one up._ She told herself, before accepting the fact that the sooner she got back the sooner it would be over. Hurrying across the road she saw a bus approach and signalled it down.

Whilst the journey into town had felt like forever, the trip back to her neighbourhood felt far too short. Before she knew it Beca was slowly walking down the street to the house, mentally preparing herself for the argument that was about to occur.

Taking a final few breaths, she slid her key into the door and stepped inside.


	6. Tears and braids

"You've been here a week and you've already started skipping class! Beca this is unacceptable behaviour. Do you know how many strings I had to pull to get you in there? And this is how you repay me. I waited an hour in the car park for you after school!" Beca had kept quiet up to this point, letting her father's words wash over her. But when she heard his final statement she couldn't help but laugh. Which served to only further infuriate him.

"Oh I'm so sorry you waited an hour, that must have been so awful for you Andrew. Try seven years." She furiously spat at him, trying to resist the urge to punch him in his stupid hypocritical face.

"No Beca! You are not pulling that on me right now. Yes, I made a huge mistake, probably the biggest mistake of my life and that is something I am going to have to spend a long time making up for. But that is not what this is about right now. This is about you, ditching school. And as your father I am perfectly entitled to be calling you out for this!" He yelled back, his face starting to turn a darker shade of red.

"You have been out of my life since I was nine years old so I'm sorry Andrew but I don't think you're particularly entitled to start acting the concerned parent now! I don't want to be here and you don't want me to be here either, so why don't we just stop fucking pretending?" Beca started turning away, she'd had enough and needed to escape to her room before she completely lost it. Andrew's hand clamped roughly around her arm, pulling her back to face him. His face was filled with rage and Beca felt a jolt of fear rush through her, which she quickly worked to supress.

"Get your hands off me." She growled, not breaking eye contact with her father, her rage only growing when he made no attempt to move.

"I said. Get. The fuck. Off me!" She screamed, pulling her arm out of his grip, ignoring the jolt of pain that shot down her arm as she shoved him backwards.

"Don't talk to me like that!" He roared, the vein on his forehead bulging dangerously.

"I'll talk to you however the fuck I want, Andrew." Beca replied coolly.

"You need to sort out your attitude Beca. What would your mom think if she could see you now?" A heavy silence fell across the kitchen as those final words left Andrew Mitchell's mouth. Beca stumbled backwards, as if the words had visibly struck her.

"Becs I'm…" Her father began speaking, seeing the raw hurt on his daughter's face sent waves of guilt coursing through him.

"No. Don't, don't you even dare!" Beca found her voice and let the words come pouring out, barely registering the tears that were now streaming down her face.

"You weren't there for seven years. You didn't see what we had to go through whilst you were here building your brand new life with your perfect fucking trophy wife. You have no fucking clue. So don't ever, ever speak for mom again!" She screamed, furiously wiping her eyes. She had to leave, she didn't care where, Beca just knew she couldn't be in the house any longer. Ignoring the pleas from her father she charged out of the kitchen, barely pausing to grab her satchel before running out of the door.

She didn't stop running until she could feel her lungs burning and her legs about to give out. Not caring about what she looked like, she fell to the ground, chest heaving. Beca barely registered the dull pain in her knees as they connected with the sidewalk, her mind too preoccupied by what had just happened.

In just one sentence, Andrew had manage to drag up so many memories of her mother which Beca had tried for so long to ignore. Even the small insignificant memories like the time they spent the entire day eating ice cream and binge watching NCIS, sent fresh waves of pain through Beca. She missed her mom so badly it felt like someone had punched a hole through her chest. The tears were once again flowing freely and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball right there on the sidewalk. It was like the sadness had paralysed her, and she lost track of how long she spent there, her tears staining the concrete path.

…..

"Beca? Oh my god Beca are you okay?" The familiar voice of Chloe Beale broke through Beca's stupor and she slowly looked up from her position on the ground. In the back of her mind she knew that she must have looked a mess but she could no longer bring herself to care, the argument with her father had exhausted her.

"How long have you been here? You're freezing!" Chloe exclaimed, and Beca distantly realised that the girl was crouched besides her, one arm wrapped tentatively around the smaller girl's shaking frame.

"Uh, I'm fine Chloe." Beca started saying before she was instantly silenced by the other girl.

"Beca Mitchell you are so clearly not fine so don't even think about trying to convince me otherwise." She replied sternly, forcing Beca to meet her gaze.

Chloe's heart almost broke as she saw Beca's bloodshot eyes and the look of exhaustion and grief etched so strongly into her features.

"You don't need to tell me what happened right now." She started, knowing of Beca's hatred for opening up.

"But, you need to get off the streets, you're going to freeze to death." She continued, concern lacing her voice as she saw Beca once again shiver.

"Can't go home." Beca muttered, dropping her gaze.

Then you're coming to mine." Chloe replied simply. Beca's eyes shot back to Chloe's as she processed what the redhead had just said. She opened her mouth to protest but was immediately shut down by Chloe.

"Now we can sit here and argue about it for however long it takes, after which time you will be even colder and still end up at my house. Or we can skip all that bit and go now. What do you want to do?" Beca could see that there would be no dissuading Chloe from this matter, and as much as she didn't want to admit it she needed Chloe's help right now. Nodding slightly, she allowed Chloe to gently pull her up off the sidewalk. Wondering how she hadn't noticed earlier the plummeting temperature Beca wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up. Noticing the movement, Chloe quickly unzipped her own jacket and handed it to Beca.

"Don't even bother fighting." She said quickly, already anticipating the protestations from the smaller girl. After a moments silence as Beca gratefully pulled the jacket on, the brunette smiled weakly.

"Thanks Chlo."

Chloe smiled and gestured for Beca to follow her as they began walking.

"So I thought we'd braid each-others hair before watching trashy rom coms and talking about boys." Chloe said, breaking the comfortable silence they had slipped into as they walked through the cool evening. The look of barely hidden disgust on Beca's face had Chloe gasping for breath and clutching her sides.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! God Becs your face was a picture!" She snorted.

"Oh you're such a bitch Beale!" Beca replied but was unable to keep the smile off her face as she watched Chloe

"And we're home!" Chloe declared gesturing to the large house in front of them. Beca gaped, why did everyone in Georgia seem to be ridiculously wealthy?! As they walked up the driveway Beca felt a rush of gratitude towards Chloe, she wasn't used to people actively wanting to help her, especially after she'd been as rude as she had been to Chloe.

Maybe, just maybe amongst all this shit she could still make a friend.


	7. Heart to hearts and lasagne

**Hey so firstly I owe you all a huge apology! Life got a little crazy so this update has been a little delayed and I hope you all can forgive me haha. Secondly I've read, re read, edited, re edited and played around with this chapter so much that at this point I'm just going to put it out here for you guys. I hope it's okay, it turned out to be more challenging than I originally anticipated but I guess that's one of the joys of writing right?!**

"Chloe is that you? Dinner's almost ready!" A light voice, not dissimilar to Chloe's echoed through the hallway as she quietly closed the door behind them.

"Yeah mom I'm home! What is that it smells so good? Also I've brought a friend I hope you don't mind!" She hurriedly called back to the older woman, dragging Beca by the arm with surprising strength. Beca barely had time to process what was happening before she found herself stood in a magnificent kitchen, face to face with Mrs Beale. Still unable to formulate words, she was grateful when Chloe once again started speaking.

"Mom this is Beca! She's just moved here for the year while her aunt's in Europe." Chloe explained, gesturing at Beca, who was still stood there somewhat dumbfounded.

"It's lovely to meet you Beca." Chloe's mom smiled warmly at her and before Beca could process what was happening she was pulled into a crushing hug.

 _Well do something you idiot!_ Beca's mind yelled at her as she tentatively returned the hug. As her mom released her she could see Chloe trying not to laugh and Beca had to resist the urge to throw her a sarcastic comment, not knowing how well it would be received by Mrs Beale. It was at that moment her bladder decided to remind her just how long she had been sat on the sidewalk and she quickly turned to Chloe.

"Can I use your bathroom please?" She asked, hoping it wouldn't be difficult to find in Chloe's maze of a house.

"Yes of course! Straight up the stairs and it's the first door on your right." Chloe smiled widely at Beca and offered to take her satchel. Beca gratefully passed it over to Chloe before hurrying up the stairs, praying she didn't get lost.

…..

Whilst Beca was navigating the upstairs floor of the Beale household, Chloe helped her mother set the table, the two quietly talking about the brunette.

"She hasn't seen him in seven years mom, I think she's really struggling having to live with him…" Chloe whispered, her brow creasing with concern.

"I know honey, I know. It's gonna be really difficult for her to adjust to this whole situation. She needs a good support system." Her mom added, staring pointedly at Chloe.

"Oh don't worry mom. It might take a while but I think me and Beca are gonna be really fast friends." She replied, determination evident in her voice. Her mom smiled warmly at her daughter.

"I'm sure you will Chlo. Just don't push her too fast, from the sounds of it she's been through a lot so it'll probably take her a while to feel comfortable around you." The older woman gently reminded her daughter, aware that Chloe could be very full on at times.

Before Chloe could reply, light footsteps on the staircase signalled Beca's return, who smiled shyly when she re-entered the room.

"Did you find it okay?" Chloe asked quickly.

"Just about. You know that bathroom is so small you should probably put a sign up or something." Beca replied, unable to keep a hint of sarcasm out of her voice, the bathroom was around the same size as her whole bedroom. Chloe snorted, before lightly punching Beca's arm.

"I know right. I've been telling mom for years we need to do something about it." She deadpanned, her heart leaping slightly as she saw Beca smirk back at her.

"What are you two laughing at?" Chloe's mom yelled over her shoulder before turning her attention back to the oven.

"Nothing!" Both girls replied in unison and then once more broke into giggles.

"Well dinner's ready so if you want feeding tonight you better sit your asses down!" She told them with mock severity as she placed the steaming dish of lasagne in front of the girls. Beca's stomach gave an appreciative growl that elicited laughs from both Beale's.

"Oh dig in Beca! When it comes to food there's no etiquette in this house, Chloe's a pig." Mrs Beale told Beca, who cracked up laughing at the look of indignation on Chloe's face, before shovelling a large portion of lasagne on to her plate, feeling surprisingly at home.

…

Beca led on Chloe's bed, clutching her stomach and groaning slightly. The bed creaked slightly next to her and she knew without opening her eyes that Chloe had joined her. The jolt of the mattress caused her stomach to turn and she curled into the foetal position.

"Chloe noooo." She mumbled into the pillow, causing the red head to laugh.

"I did try to stop you eating that fourth portion." She told her, and Beca opened her eyes enough to see Chloe arching an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on her lips.

"You should have tried harder!" Beca told her, cursing her lack of self-control.

"Beca Mitchell I would have been genuinely worried for safety had I tried to take away your lasagne. Besides, I was far too impressed with the amount you put away to stop you, how you're so tiny is beyond me!" Chloe replied, gently poking Beca's stomach.

"Oh my god no I will throw up on you." Beca warned, before rolling away from Chloe who simply once more dissolved into laughter.

"I blame your mom any way, if her food wasn't so good I wouldn't have consumed so much." Beca grumbled.

"I know, I'm blessed." Chloe told her in between laughs.

Feeling her stomach settle slightly, Beca rolled back to face Chloe with a curious yet somewhat hesitant expression on her face.

"So… Where's your dad? If you don't mind me asking." She stuttered quietly, hoping she hadn't crossed a line with Chloe.

"Not at all. Him and my mom weren't working out so he left a few years ago. I see him a couple of times a year, we kinda get on but he doesn't really know me anymore…" Chloe replied, her voice trailing away with a hint of sadness. Beca reached out and briefly touched Chloe's arm, she knew exactly how Chloe felt, which surprised her, sometimes she forgot she wasn't the only person with divorced parents. Chloe smiled at Beca's gesture before continuing talking, she felt compelled to share more of her life with Beca, hoping that it would make it easier for the brunette to open up to her.

"My mom seems okay with it now though. I mean, she struggled a bit when it first happened but she's a lawyer so she just threw herself into her work."

"Has she dated anyone since your dad left?" Beca asked, curiously.

"She's been on a few dates but nothing permanent. I think she works too much to even consider it, no matter how many times I tell her she should get out there." Chloe replied lightly, as they fell back into a comfortable silence.

After a while, Chloe built up the courage to start asking Beca about her past.

"So what does your Aunt do?"

"Oh she works for some marketing company, this promotion has pushed her pretty far up the ranks so it wouldn't surprise me if she's running the place soon." Beca told her, unmistakeable fondness in her voice as she thought about her Aunt Shelley.

"You miss her." Chloe's words weren't a question but Beca chose to answer them regardless.

"Everyday. I know it's only been a week but god yeah I miss her so much." Even though she was slightly taken aback by her own honesty she decided to continue talking. There was something about Chloe that just made her want to talk, and god it had been so long since she'd had someone her own age she could talk to.

It was like the floodgates had been opened and she couldn't stop.

"Andrew left when I was nine, it was just me and my mom and then she lost her job. We could never reach him to try and get him to pay child support for me, and we didn't have the money to hire a lawyer so we had to make do. My mom got a job at a diner, worked as many shifts as she physically could with having to look after me as well. God we were such a fucking cliché." Beca stopped for a moment, trying to collect herself as more memories of her mom come flooding back. Chloe remained silent, not waiting to disrupt Beca's train of thought, instead she gently took one of Beca's hands in her own, giving it a small squeeze. Letting her know that she was here for her.

"I was 13. It was November 13th, the roads were frozen over." Beca tightened her grip on Chloe's hand, the only other person she'd talked about her mom with was Aunt Shelley. Taking a deep breath she continued, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"She was driving home from the late shift, she'd rung me just before she set off. I'd made dinner. We were gonna watch NCIS when she got back, we joked about how much we loved DiNozzo and that it was a travesty he hadn't ended up with Kate. That was the last conversation I had with her. Some idiot came speeding around a corner about five miles from our house. Went head on into my mom. She died straight away." Tears flowed freely down Beca's cheeks and turning to look at Chloe she saw her blue eyes shining, full of love and sympathy. Not knowing what to say, Chloe pulled Beca into a hug, relief filling her as she felt the smaller girl relax against her body.

Gently stroking Beca's hair, Chloe held her as she sobbed. Her heart ached for the girl she held in her arms. She deserved so much more, the injustice made Chloe want to both sob and scream in frustration. She lost track of how long they lay there and she eventually felt the slowing of Beca's breathing and knew the girl had fallen asleep.

As her own eyes began to droop she made a silent promise that she was going to be there for Beca. Be the friend she'd never had. The friend she truly deserved.


	8. Extreme Pancaking

**So it's late, I've had three hours of sleep, my womb is destroying itself and a giant spider just crawled up my leg… But yay new chapter! If it sucks, refer to above points and I apologise profusely.**

Beca's eyes flew open and panic filled her body as she surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings. Before she could completely freak out, the memories of last night came flooding back and turning to see Chloe still sleeping next to her, she relaxed slightly.

As she led there staring up at the ceiling she kept replaying their conversation and her subsequent meltdown, cringing with embarrassment. She hadn't meant to tell Chloe about her mom, it had just all sort of come out and Beca had been powerless to stop it.

 _It felt good though._ A tiny voice reminded her. _To talk to someone asides from Aunt Shelley about her. And look, she's still here, she didn't freak out or tell you to leave. She wants to be your friend Mitchell, god damn it why can't you just let her?!_ Beca closed her eyes, trying to sort out her thoughts into something coherent. She couldn't quite silence the nagging voice rooted deep in the back of her mind however, and she soon found it dominating all other thoughts.

 _What if you've made it weird now? You barely know each other and you fall asleep crying in her arms?! Christ you're a mess. This was your chance, your chance to make a friend and you've probably screwed it up. She's gonna wake up and it'll be awkward cause you've ruined it. As usual._

Bringing her hands up to her forehead, Beca tried to silence the voice, knowing that it was irrational and she was overthinking everything but it was so difficult.

The voice was so loud.

"Hey." The small, sleep laced voice broke through the storm that was currently wreaking havoc in Beca's brain, and she was grateful to have something, anything to cling onto, to distract herself.

"Hey…" She replied tentatively, not wanting to look at Chloe for fear of what expression her blue eyes would hold.

"Beca?" She heard Chloe ask, her voice stronger. Beca took a deep breath, this was it. She was going to tell her how she didn't think they should be friends and that maybe it's better for her to leave cause she doesn't know how to handle what Beca told her. Deciding to just bite the bullet, she rolled over to face Chloe, steeling herself as she took in the serious expression etched onto the redhead's face. After a beat of silence Chloe once more opened her mouth.

"Do you want pancakes for breakfast?"

As her words eventually registered in Beca's brain, the smaller girl couldn't stop the laugh that escaped from her body.

 _Pancakes?! Seriously? After everything that happened last night the only thing she's concerned about is pancakes._ Beca thought to herself incredulously, the roaring voice of doubt that had consumed her entire being only moments ago, had now been almost completely quelled thanks to those few simple words.

"What's so funny?" Chloe asked her questioningly, bringing a hand up to her face to make sure nothing was there.

"Nothing, nothing! Just, yes. Pancakes sound incredible." Beca replied happily before sitting up and somewhat reluctantly pushing herself off Chloe's incredibly comfortable bed.

"Yay! Okay, come on, I'll show you my epic cooking skills." Relieved that she hadn't drooled on herself or something equally as embarrassing, Chloe practically darted to her bedroom door, gesturing for Beca to follow her.

"Should I be concerned about food poisioning?" Beca joked, laughing at the look of mock outrage as Chloe turned to face her.

"So I take it you won't be having any then." She replied sweetly, rushing out of the room before Beca could have a chance to question her further.

"Hey not a chance Beale!" Beca yelled, charging out of the room to follow Chloe downstairs and into the kitchen.

….

"I gotta admit it Chlo, these pancakes are pretty good!" Beca managed to say in between taking large bites of her fifth pancake. Chloe who had been full at three was watching her in awe.

"How. How can you still be hungry?!" She asked the smaller girl, incredulously.

"And more to the point how do you stay that size?! I'm so jealous." She added, only semi jokingly.

"Fast metabolism." Beca replied, winking at Chloe before turning her attention back to her syrup coated pancake.

After Beca had reluctantly admitted that maybe a seventh pancake would not be a good idea and they had finished cleaning the kitchen, the girls settled themselves onto one of the large sofas in the living room. Idly flicking through channels they ended up watching extreme couponing after both confessing it was one of their guilty pleasures.

They fell into a comfortable silence, which was only broken by the odd remark about the skills of each contestant and how could they possibly use that much pasta sauce. It was something that Beca would do with her Aunt Shelley and she loved how she could do the same with Chloe, it made her feel less alone. Of course, this couldn't last forever and she knew that sooner or later she was going to have to return home and face Andrew and Sheila. She sighed and her brow crinkled as she remembered the argument the previous day. Noticing the subtle shift in Beca's mood, Chloe turned her attention away from the tv.

"You okay?" She asked concerned, unthinkingly shifting closer to the girl.

"Just, just thinking about Andrew. Things got pretty intense yesterday…" Beca's voice trailed off, not really knowing what else to say she tried to lighten the mood.

"So how cool would your mom be with me moving in?" She asked jokingly, smirking at Chloe, who couldn't help but smile in return.

"She'd be thrilled I'm sure." She replied with a slight chuckle, before her features became more serious.

"Seriously though Beca. Any time things get to difficult back there you're welcome here, always. Mom spends a lot of time out of the house so she'd probably love knowing I had company more often! And you can stay tonight as well if you want to." She told Beca, the sincerity ringing clear in every word.

Not used to having people care so deeply about her, Beca was slightly mortified as she felt herself tear up. Quickly wiping her eyes she simply nodded at Chloe, before managing to string a sentence together.

"Thank you, it means a lot." Chloe's smile widened and a surge of happiness shot through her. She instinctively pulled Beca into a large hug, who hesitated only momentarily before returning it.

"Oh, but you should probably let him know you're here Becs. My mom may be a hot shot lawyer but I don't think she'll appreciate having a kidnapping case on her hands!" Chloe added as they broke apart, relieved to see Beca nod in agreement.

Knowing it was better to get it over with, Beca rummaged through the satchel she had left near the tv the night before and gingerly pulled her phone out. Checking the screen she saw a flurry of messages from her father, all along of the lines of "please come home". She quickly tapped out a message that she was fine, she was staying at a friend's and would be home tomorrow, before hitting send and throwing the phone back into her satchel.

"Now, I say we spend the day on this sofa, consuming all of the junk food and watching whatever crap comes up on TLC. You can deal with your dad tomorrow, today is a day for relaxing." Chloe told Beca, knowing that she would need a distraction from thinking about everything that had happened recently.

"That. Sounds perfect." Beca replied, smiling at Chloe before settling back on to the sofa and once more losing herself in the intense world of couponing.

For the first time, in what felt like a very long time. Beca began to feel the real stirrings of hope deep inside her.

And it was both terrifying and incredible.


End file.
